re: Son of former NFL player gets probation in deadly hit-and-run

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I’ve also hit my mirror on a mail box. I knew I hit something when it happened. We all know why he left the scene.

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Knowing that you hit something and knowing that you hit a person are two different things. He clearly knew he hit something.

Did he probably leave because he was drunk? Yeah, he probably did. But I don't want a justice system that gives people sentences based upon things that "probably" happened.

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Bottom line it was an accident, albeit a terrible one but there's no intent.

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Agreed. But a civil case is sure to follow.

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Did he probably leave because he was drunk? Yeah, he probably did. But I don't want a justice system that gives people sentences based upon things that "probably" happened.

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Me neither. I also don't want a justice system that gets the call and says "oh, you hit someone with your car and killed them? Well, we're closed Monday, and Tuesday looks full so... come on by Wednesday! Everything should be out of your system by then!"

He drove under the influence, killed a person with his car, fled, called his rich daddy, his rich daddy called a lawyer with connections, and it all went away.

I know it, you know it, everybody knows it. Including the judge who sentenced him to speak about the danger of drunk driving I mean come the frick on.

Like they always say, it's not WHO you know, it's......No, wait, it IS who you know!

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Wally English should've been on that road...justifiable

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and they ran off Vince for him. Vince liked me. Wally said i was too slow.

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How the frick do you run over a person and kill him, leave the scene without even calling for help then turn yourself in days later and only get probation?

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Well for starters, be Bubby Brister’s kid.

Why was Jureau who is 44 years old crossing Ben Hur? That's where the Cottages and Woodlands are. That road doesn't really have anything but 18-22 year olds. Was this 44 year old creeping for college kids under half his age? I get this is tragic, but just sounds weird for him to be there.

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Why was Jureau who is 44 years old crossing Ben Hur? That's where the Cottages and Woodlands are. That road doesn't really have anything but 18-22 year olds. Was this 44 year old creeping for college kids under half his age? I get this is tragic, but just sounds weird for him to be there.

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I remember when this happened I initially thought something similar b/c I knew him and he's close to my age. I wondered why he was in that area with college kids. But I quickly stopped myself and felt terrible for victim blaming. It doesn't matter why he was there. It's a public area that was full of LSU fans that night(after Bama win).

Your line of thinking is just as wrong as people who questioned Allie Rice's decision to drive down Government street alone at 2am.

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What would have been the correct sentence in y’all’s mind?

Personally I would’ve liked 5 years probation and license revocation for a couple years.

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It's kind of fricked up how everyone wanted Joseph Branch put away for life for killing a cyclist on Perkins Road.
Nevermind the cyclist, Nathan Crowson, was known to ride in the middle of roads where it's legal but dangerous. And he had numerous prior run-ins with drivers b/c he wouldn't get out of the way and 'share the road'.

At least he stopped and owned it.Branch got 7.5 years and served about half of it. We have NO IDEA what Bristers BAC was because he hauled arse home and prepared his defense. Now I know for a fact Brister is remorseful but he won't talk about how drunk he was that night. Wonder why.

WAFB Branch sentenced to 7.5 years

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BATON ROUGE, LA (WAFB) - A drunk driver who killed one bicyclist and badly injured another learned Wednesday that he will spend the next 7.5 years of his life in prison. Assistant District Attorney Julie Cullen said of that, Joseph Branch is not eligible for parole for the first 5 years. Branch will have to serve 85% of the remaining 2.5 years.

District Judge Mike Erwin was prepared to sentence Branch, 31, to 25 years, but suspended all but 7.5 years. He faced up to 30 years in prison. Erwin told Branch he was "lucky." His sentence was reduced only because attorney's and the victim's families agreed to the lesser term, in addition to $295,000 that Branch will pay in restitution. That money will be split between the surviving victim, Danny Morris, and the deceased victim's daughter, Kat Coburn, 8.

Branch was convicted of vehicular homicide and negligent injuring in the Jan. 21, 2012 crash that killed Nathan Crowson and put Danny Morris in the hospital for nearly a month. The two were riding bicycles on Perkins Road when they were hit.


Branch's blood alcohol content after the crash was .307, which is three times the legal limit in the state of Louisiana.

Wednesday's sentencing was the first time Branch addressed the victim's in the case. He told them, through tears, he did not mean to hurt them more through his non-remorseful actions and that he was, "Sorry from the bottom of my heart."

"He's going to jail for a long time," Morris said, after court. "That's what he's really sad about."

Morris also said he felt Branch's apology was too little, too late. "If I was going to jail for almost 10 years, I'd be begging for everyone's forgiveness too."


Morris' mother, Debbie, said she believes Branch does feel bad.

"How can someone not?" she asked. During her victim impact statement she turned to face the convicted killer, saying she wanted to see his eyes. "I wanted to see him. I had never actually been able to see him. I wanted to see if I could see something there."

The brothers and mother of Nathan Crowson, a former WAFB employee, also spoke before Branch was sentenced.

"If you lose a spouse, you're a widow. If you lose a parent, you're an orphan. There's no word for a parent who loses a child," said Crowson's mother, Rita Wise. "I'm blessed to have my other children, but nobody will ever replace Nathan."


Morris was given the opportunity to address the court in February through a victim impact statement. He also testified at the trial that because of the crash, he has constant memory problems.

"Everything hazy prior to the crash," he said. "My memory is like a computer with RAM & ROM. I can remember certain things, but it now has to be triggered."

He said before the accident, he would ride his bike for miles, skateboard, jump and do everything that is normally taken for granted. His pelvis was shattered in the crash.

Branch was convicted in October 2014. After obtaining a new defense team, a motion for a new trial was filed, but it was later withdrawn. Erwin then set March 18 as the sentencing date for Branch.

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